that was shot down basically by pope john paul ii. now, pope benedict told vatican cardinals that he didn't have the strength to go on. people we spoke to this morning said all of the other popes except one have died in office. why couldn't he? but others were sympathetic. >> i was listening to the catholic radio station and they were saying he wanted to resign even before. right now, he feels this is it. so god bless him. >> reporter: the 85-year-old ally last day of pope will be february 28th. the last time the pope resigned was nearly 600 years ago, when pope gregory xii stepped down in an effort to end the civil war within the church. pope benedict xvi was born in 1927 as joseph ratzinger. he served in the army but deserted and was eventually captured by americans and then released. his decision sets the stage for a new pope to be elected before the end of march. the san francisco archdiocese just opened about a minute ago. we are hoping to speak to someone from there and get reaction on this event. >> all right. tara, you can get